


Life's Little Instructions

by xingnini



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Canon Universe, Comedy, Gen, OT12 - Freeform, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-24 01:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12001659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xingnini/pseuds/xingnini
Summary: Live with wisdom and humor, and you will be rewarded with a satisfyingly simple and happy life.





	1. Sing In The Shower

Huang Zitao skipped into the living room where his fellow members were all hanging out. Xiumin, Kris, and Sehun were all splayed out on the couch in front of the TV while Luhan was sitting on a chair trying to get a better wifi signal. There was a towel strung around Tao’s neck, but the other members were too busy to realize this warning signal.

 

"Lu-ge, shower with me!!"

 

“Lu-ge is busy right now,” he responded with not much reaction.

 

“But I’m scared!”

 

"Tao-er, you've got to be kidding me."

 

"That's a no? Why are you always so mean?"

 

While Luhan was still looking at his phone, he got up to go to his room and Tao turned to face the other members sitting down on the couch. Immediately, Sehun and Xiumin scrambled up, leaving Kris sitting alone, still cluelessly watching the TV. 

 

"Guys, it just got to the good part, why'd you leave?" Kris called out, eyes still glued to the screen.

 

No response.

 

"If you went to the kitchen, bring back some Doritos!"

 

Tao smirked evilly and plopped down onto the couch next to his favorite gege.

 

"Yifan-ge," Tao purred with excessively wide puppy-dog eyes.

 

"You overuse “ge” too much. I ain't showering with you."

 

Tao pouted. “Do you really, really, really want a smelly band member lounging around the house just because you wouldn’t shower with him?” 

 

“Huang Zitao, that’s nasty.” 

 

“Then take a shower with me!! I can’t get that scary face out of my head…” Tao trailed off, whimpering a little at the end. “I can’t avoid the mirror…”

 

Kris sighed and turned off the TV. He groaned while getting off the couch, and Tao squealed with gratefulness. 

 

“I am  _ NOT _ taking a shower with you. I’ll just stand outside the door or something.”

 

“No! You might leave and I won’t be able to tell if you stay outside! Just sit on the toilet or something!” 

 

Kris gave Tao a long look before making his way to the bathroom, with the younger trailing behind happily. 

  
  


Yixing and Chanyeol heard singing interrupting their guitar session and decided to check out what the ruckus was. They heard it coming from the bathroom and decided to press their ears to the door to see what was going on.

 

"GET YOUR CRAYON!!! GET YOUR CRAYON!!!"

 

"Zitao, shut up and hurry up.” 

 

“Why so serious? COME ON GIRLS, COME ON BOYS!!” 

 

There was a click in the door and Yixing and Chanyeol were sent stumbling back on the floor as the door opened and Kris emerged from the bathroom. 

 

“YIFAN-GE!! NO!! DON’T LEAVE!! I WON’T SING ANYMORE!!” 

 

Chanyeol and Yixing were splattered with water as a panicked Tao emerged from the bathroom with only a towel around his waist.

 

Lay was baffled. “Did he just —” 

 

“At least he had a towel covering everything,” Chanyeol remarked. 

 

“But he didn’t even dry himself off or anything!”

 

Suho and Kyungsoo were coming back from the kitchen when they stopped in the middle of their tracks as they saw huge puddles and a trail of water; their leader was looking like he was about to have a heart attack.

 

“WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE!!” 

 

“PARK CHANYEOL!! YOU BETTER GET THE MOP AND WIPE ALL OF THAT BEFORE I GET IT AND BEAT YOU WITH IT!” Kyungsoo threatened.

 

Chanyeol’s eyes boggled out of his head. “LAY-HYUNG IS HERE TOO! WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS ASSUMING IT’S M—”

 

“You’re blaming it on Yixing?!” Kyungsoo grabbed Chanyeol by the ear until he was standing up and dragged him to the kitchen to get the mop, leaving Suho and Lay in the hallway.

 

“Who was it?”

 

“Tao.”

 

The leader sighed.

  
  
  


Kyungsoo wasn’t at all expecting what he saw when he entered the bathroom, especially since the door was unlocked. He hadn’t heard the shower running or the singing that came along with the pit-pattering of dancing feet. 

 

Jongin was in a good mood today.

 

And that meant dancing and singing in the shower.

 

“Neoneun ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, mach — KYUNGSOO-HYUNG! SHIT!” 

 

A loud bang and crash came from the shower and through the wet and foggy glass of the shower door, Kyungsoo could see a body all crumpled up on the floor from having fallen.

 

“JONGIN!! ARE YOU OKAY?!?!” Kyungsoo rushed over to the shower and opened the glass door to see if Jongin’s head was bleeding or anything. He himself was starting to get drenched by the running water. 

 

“I am so sorry,” he apologized to the younger. “I swear I di—”

 

“Hyung.”

 

“—dn’t hear anything until I walked in and—”

 

“It’s okay, and I’m okay, but you should probably go and pretend you didn’t see anything…”

 

Kyungsoo realized what Jongin meant when he stopped looking at his head for any injuries and started looking at other body parts that usually weren’t exposed. 

 

Kyungsoo squeaked and closed the bathroom door in a rush, getting out of there as fast as he could. He went from the bathroom and into the living room where the den and trap of beagle-line existed.

 

“How could you have possibly not heard the water running?” Baekhyun inquired.

 

“Or him singing his lungs out in there?” Jongdae sing-songed along.

 

“Bet you made that excuse up to justify going inside there,” Chanyeol taunted. 

 

Kyungsoo was absolutely mortified.


	2. Treat Everyone You Meet Like You Want To Be Treated

“I can’t stand this anymore,” Sehun said, making known his resolution.

 

“Me neither,” Tao agreed. “This is too much. The company is crazy.” 

 

“We should complain to the higher-ups,” Sehun declared. 

 

_ BANG! _

 

The door of the room flew open and the second-oldest member of the band trudged in.

 

“YAH!!!! ARE YOU CRAZY? DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH? DO YOU WANT TO GET FIRED?” Luhan came out of nowhere and yelled at the Korean maknae, grabbing his ear. While Sehun was yowling in pain, Luhan shot an icy cold stare at Tao, who flinched a little. “Are you going to agree?” 

 

“No…” Tao hesitated to answer.

 

Xiumin came into the room, closed the door behind him, and looked at the oncoming scene of his friend grabbing Sehun’s ear and Tao cowering back more and more. He sighed. “Guys, be quiet… Jongin is sleeping. Let him rest since he’s been practicing all night last night.” He gave another look at his friend who was of the same age. “Luhan… Don’t you think you are being a little too harsh? Sehun’s ear is turning really red…” 

 

“Hahaha, don’t worry, Minseokkie! Sehunnie’s skin just has a milky complexion, making everything look like it hurts more. It will turn redder more quickly, but it doesn’t hurt as much,” Luhan tried to reason happily. 

 

“Shhh, you’re still talking a little loud,” Xiumin tried to quiet down Luhan.

 

“Minseok-hyung, save me!” Sehun yelped, as the older pulled harder on his ear. 

 

“He wanted to complain to our managers about the meet-and-greet. He doesn’t even want to see his fans! What kind of an idol thinks that way?! It’s ridi—” 

 

Luhan was interrupted by the sound of Jongin shouting at the top of his lungs. They could hear it loud and clear, even though the door was closed. 

 

“— KYUNGSOO!! NO! THEY WEREN’T BEING THAT L—”

 

The door burst open again, and a demonic-looking Kyungsoo was standing, fuming in the doorway. A frazzled Jongin dashed to behind him and tried to hold the smaller back. “Kyungsoo, let’s go, I can go back to slee—”

 

“YOU GUYS, BE QUIET!! JONGIN IS TRYING TO REST BUT YOU ALL ARE BEING TOO NOISY!!” 

 

“THEN SAVE ME!!” Sehun screeched.

 

“The maknae line is too whiny! They would rather spend time in the dorm rather than meet their own fans.” Luhan turned from Kyungsoo to the youngest. “Oh Sehun, how would you feel if Miranda Kerr didn’t want to meet you?” 

 

Sehun stopped struggling and thought for a little. A reflective and regretful expression spread across his face, and Luhan felt the sense of satisfaction coming on. “Pretty bad…”

 

“Exactly. Hasn’t your mom ever told you, ‘Treat others the way you want to be treated’? Our fans are no exception.”

 

Xiumin patted Luhan on the shoulder. “But Luhan, you have to understand that they’re tired right now. They are just saying whatever passes their brains and comes out of their mouths.” 

 

“Hey! I’ll have you know that Jongin is not like that,” Kyungsoo protested. “Jongin is glad and grateful 24/7 for our fans!” Jongin didn’t know whether or not he wanted to internally groan at Kyungsoo’s outbursts or coo at his endearment. 

 

“I’m sorry for almost agreeing with Sehun,” Tao apologized to Luhan. “He’s the stupid one. It’s not that I don’t appreciate our fans, it’s just the event that is bringing me stress.” 

 

“Huang Zitao, you punk, just know I won’t let you off easy later,” Sehun threatened. 

 

“Okay, Jongin, let’s get you back to sleep,” Kyungsoo said, gently prodding him out the door.

 

“Be nice to your fans when you see them Sehun. They are our life and saviors, because they are there to support us. You are nothing without them,” Luhan lectured, and Xiumin saw it fit to slip out of the room since the former significantly calmed down. “When you sign their CD or poster, I want you to smile at them and have unique small-talk with each and every one of them.” 

 

“Yes, hyung.”

 

“Alright, I’m glad we had this talk.” 

 

“But, Luhan-hyung?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can you let go of my ear now?” 

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

“HAHAHAHA, LU-GE, I THINK YOU STRETCHED HIS EAR!!” 


	3. Watch A Sunrise At Least Once A Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> not exo showtime accurate (lol) but also taken from exo showtime

"So you're saying we have to get up at 6 in the morning for the sunset," Kris deadpanned.

 

"Sunrise," their manager corrected.

 

“Right,” Kris carelessly replied.

 

"Hyung, let's be honest. Jongin probably won't be able to wake up at that set time," Joonmyun tried to reason.

 

"Yeah, I probably won't be able to either," Luhan chimed in.

 

"Not even for the fans?" Sehun taunted, earning a glare from the older.

 

"No, it's true. Lulu is a sloth," Yixing confirmed, backing Luhan up. "No matter how much he loves his fans, he will love sleep and his bed more — unless Tao sits on it..."

 

"Not the point!" the manager cut in. "This is happening as an EXO Showtime episode whether or not you guys like it. It has to be a heartfelt segment on the show, so you guys better think of some resolutions for the New Year or something." And with that, the manager left.

 

Tao was the first to break the silence. "I'm just going to sleep all day the night before. You all can do the cooking and shopping for that episode." He ignored Baekhyun calling him, "Laaaaaaaaaaazy!" 

 

"It's going to be cold and windy at the beach in the early morning, so make sure you bring really warm jackets to wear underneath the ones that the company gave," Jongdae said. "Since those are probably not going to be warm enough."

 

The boys all cooed at Jongdae for stepping up and taking the mother-role before Joonmyun or Kyungsoo could. 

  
  
  


“I cannot believe this,” Kris grumbled. “I shouldn’t even be awake at this hour.”

 

“Lighten up, duizhang! It’s great that we get to experience this together!” Yixing cheerfully expressed, causing Kris to raise his eyebrows. “It’s going to be beautiful!! Especially since it’s the first sunrise of the year!”

 

“Forget about how early it is, it’s freezing!” Minseok tucked his hands in his pockets and burrowed his neck deeper into his scarf afterward. 

 

“Okay, we can get through this. Let’s just move around a bit,” Kris said determinedly, moving over to get to Minseok’s side. They started shaking their bodies together to gather as much body heat as they can. 

 

The boys were suddenly aware that the cameras were on them. Although they had to keep their image as idols, they didn’t want to make the show completely scripted. They insisted that they wanted to show their fans some extent of their true selves. With the camera’s on them, they couldn’t complain as much.

 

Many minutes passed by, and they’ve been standing in the cold for quite some time now. The sky became considerably lighter and it took on a light blue color. But where was the sun?

 

No one was doing anything; they were all shivering and huddling up, not saying anything worthy enough to be put into the show. “Let’s say our wishes, who’s going to go first?” 

 

Joonmyun cupped his hands together in front of his mouth. “FOR THIS NEW YEAR, I WISH TO BECOME A BETTER LEADER!!” 

 

“Hey, what was that? Your voice was weak towards the end,” the other members teased and made fun of their corny leader. 

 

“LOOK AT THE HORIZON!! IT’S RISING!!” Yixing screamed out, looking at his phone. Beside him, Sehun and Tao yelled out in excitement, grabbing their phones to capture the moment. 

 

“WAHAHA!! I MADE MY WISH WHILE THE SUN WAS RISING!!” Joonmyun cried out, with arms raised in the air. 

 

“SEHUN SEHUN SEHUN SEHUN SEHUN, TAKE A VIDEO OF ME AND THE SUNSET!!” Tao pushed his phone into the hands of a fumbling Sehun, and posed near the water. After Sehun was done recording Tao wobbled back over to check the footage. “Did I come out ugly?”

 

“Huh? Yeah, but you’re naturally ugly,” Sehun deadpanned.

 

“YAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How did you take this? What is this even? I can’t even see the sunrise in the back!!” Tao whined to the maknae. “Ugh, but I look good, so I don’t want to delete it!” 

 

After recuperating from the excitement and regrouping into an organized straight line, staring into the sunset, the staff told the EXO members they should state their wishes to the sun.

 

“I wish to let us grow together as a group!!” Baekhyun shouted.

 

“My wish is for everyone to stay healthy!!” Kyungsoo added.

 

“My wish is to be more recognized and to interact with fans!! I’ll speak more!!” yelled out Minseok.

 

“I’D LIKE TO BECOME COOLER!!” Chanyeol called out, resulting in the members laughing and snickering at him because Park Dobi will always be a clumsy awkward giant elf, but anyways, he’s  _ their  _ clumsy giant awkward giant elf… 

 

Tao lowered the scarf from his mouth to speak properly. “I hope I can live happily with the people I love!! Also, I also wish i can feel good everyday!!” Tao gave a happy laugh and shouted, “I love you, EXO!!”

 

The boys huddled together and stuck out their arms and piled their hands on each others in the middle of the circle. On the count of 3, they threw their hands up in a group cheer, shouting out, “1, 2, 3~ EXO! LET’S LOVE!!”

 

_ We, who ran breathlessly with the title “EXO”  _

_ Laughing together when we are happy _

_ Crying together when we are sad  _

_ We’re very proud of us for sharing every moment together _

 

_ The sun which we are welcoming together in a new year _ _  
_ _ We’ll develop each individual’s resolution  _

_ As men who are more wonderful than now…  _

_ And let’s be happy! _

 

_ EXO LET’S LOVE! _


	4. Leave The Toilet Seat In The Down Position

“I need to pee!!” 

 

“Oh my gosh, hurry up, Tao-yah!!” 

 

“Zitao!! Quickly!!” 

  
  
  


Zitao opened the bathroom door, with a smirk on his face. “Wipe that off your face you brat,” Baekhyun seethed, limping into the bathroom. Still waiting outside the bathroom were Jongdae, Chanyeol, Luhan, and Sehun, who were holding onto their pants like no tomorrow. 

 

The struggle of being a part of a 12-member boy band living in one dorm.

 

They had just finished their schedule and their last appointment was filming a Sunny 10 CF. They had to keep drinking until the director felt satisfied with the footage… 

 

… Leading them to their current dilemma… 

 

“S’not my fault I got to the bathroom first,” Zitao was able to taunt Baekhyun before the older closed the bathroom door. 

 

“That was truly evil,” Jongdae remarked painfully. “You could have been nice for once.” 

 

"A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do when a man's gotta poo." Zitao shrugged and went on his way. Sehun and Luhan were groaning, trying their hardest to hold everything in. 

 

The other 6 members had scrambled to the other spare bathroom — the one where Kris kept all his cosmetics and hair supplies.

 

“Make sure you don’t touch any of my products in there!!” Duizhang yelled. 

 

“WHY WOULD I WANT TO TOUCH YOUR STUPID PRODUCTS?!” Joonmyun yelled back. 

 

“THEY’RE NOT STUPID!! YOU WISH YOUR SKIN WAS AS SMOOTH AS MINE!!” 

 

The boys heard a flush and the door opened, Joonmyun having the courtesy to wash his hands in the kitchen so that the next boy could go into the bathroom faster — Minseok was the lucky man.

 

“Kyunggie, you can go next, I insist.”

 

“No, Jongin, you should go before I do,” Kyungsoo replied.

 

“If you pansies won’t go, I will,” Yifan growled.

 

Jongin stayed silent and stayed in his place, next in line. Minseok opened the door to the bathroom, looking as relieved as ever, and Jongin quickly hurried inside. 

 

As soon as the door closed, Kyungsoo turned to Yifan. “If you ever speak to Jongin in that way again, I swear, I will dunk your head in the toilet before you get to relieve yourself. Those products won’t be able to help your face after that.”

 

Yifan visibly gulped.

 

Even though Kyungsoo was half his height, he was pure rage and hatred.

 

The door opened. “All done! Your turn!” Jongin happily said to Kyungsoo. After Kyungsoo shut the door and Jongin left the room, Yifan turned to Yixing. 

 

“Xing, you saw that right? You heard what Kyungsoo said to me?! He’s frightening.”

 

“Huh? Sorry I’m concentrating on not peeing myself.” 

  
  
  


The doorbell rang and Baekhyun went to get it. When he opened the door, Taeyeon from SNSD stepped in.

 

The boys craned their heads to see who would step into their dorm at this time. “Taeyeon-sunbae?” 

 

“Taeyeon-noona, what are you doing here?” Joonmyun asked, all the boys standing up near the doorway to greet her.

 

“You didn’t know?” Taeyeon asked. “Baekhyun didn’t tell you that we’re dating now?”

 

All eleven boys stared at their beef brother, who sheepishly let out an “oops.” Besides the new couple, all the members turned to Chanyeol. “Oh, kkaebsong…” 

 

Chanyeol glared at all of them, “Wow, guys, I thought we established that the ships our fans made up for us were  _ not real _ .”

 

“I don’t know about Chanbaek or Baekyeol or whatever people call it, but Kaisoo is real af,” Jongdae shamelessly let out, and cowered back when Kyungsoo shot daggers at him with his eyes while Jongin blushed. 

 

The leader stepped up. “Anyways, even though Baekhyun didn’t tell us, congrats you two,” Joonmyun congratulated Taeyeon. “I wonder how long it’ll take Dispatch to discover you two! Or maybe our fans will find out first with their hawk eyes,” he joked. 

 

The members groaned and returned to their original place before their sunbae came in. Joonmyun joking around was cringeworthy and not worth staying around for.

 

“Alright… Baek, I’m going to use the bathroom and then I’ll be right there,” Taeyeon told him. Baekhyun directed her to the bathroom, and she went in, closing the door behind her.

 

In a couple of moments, she came back out. 

 

“You guys left the toilet seat up,” she announced, as if they didn’t know.

 

The members were puzzled and they looked around at each other. 

 

“Taeyeon-sunbae, we’re guys…” Sehun cautiously replied. “When we pee…” 

 

“But I’m a girl, and I walked into the bathroom and the seat was up,” she continued. “It’s basic manners to put the toilet seat back down!!” she scolded.

 

Everyone looked at Baekhyun, waiting for him to say something to see whose side he was on. He visibly gulped before quietly saying, “She’s right, guys.” 

 

The members groaned while Jongdae, Chanyeol, and Sehun shrieked out, “Whipped!! Baekhyun’s whipped!!” 

 

“Think about it; men and women both use the toilet seat, so it’s more convenient. Only men need to lift it and it’s gentlemanly to put it back down for wom—” 

 

“OK, STOP STOP STOP, WE GET IT,” Tao exclaimed, “We’ll put the toilet seat down from now on, right guys?” 

 

Everyone nodded, watching for Taeyeon’s approval. 

 

She smiled sweetly, then hooked her arm onto Baekhyun’s. “Okay, let’s go!” 

 

“You brought your car, right?” Baekhyun asked shyly, but not as quietly as he thought, because his members were snickering at the thought of Taeyeon driving Baekhyun around. 

 

When Baekhyun was dropped off and back at the dorm, the members begged him to tell them when Taeyeon would come over. When they hear the doorbell ring, at least three members scramble up towards the bathroom to make sure the toilet seat was down before their sunbae can find out.


	5. Never Refuse Homemade Brownies

‘I’m in a good mood today…’ Kyungsoo thought as he stepped out of his room. The members were all given a break today, so Kyungsoo decided to sleep in, listen to some music, and watch music videos before he got out of bed. 

 

Kyungsoo realized how hungry he was, so he went to the kitchen and found no one there. He fixed himself a bowl of cereal and settled down to eat. While stuffing his mouth with a spoonful of cereal, he saw the chocolate he got from fans as a Valentine’s Day gift. He hadn’t felt like eating it recently, so he had just left it out for the rest of the members to eat. However, no one has touched it since. 

 

Maybe… he could do something with it… 

 

Maybe the members would like brownies!! He could melt the chocolate and make brownies with it!! Homemade brownies from scratch… 

 

Kyungsoo finished his breakfast and set to work as soon as possible. As Kyungsoo gathered the ingredients together and started mixing them, he began singing a song that was stuck in his head ever since he listened to it before getting out of bed.

 

_ “You think I procrastinate baby  _

_ But I think I'm taking my time  _

_ You think you need to leave  _

_ But I think I disagree but  _

_ If you believe you'll do best without me _

_ I’ll let it go girl, it’s over” _

 

As Kyungsoo started pouring the brownie mix into a pan, Yifan came into the kitchen for a glass of water. 

 

“Hey, Kyungsoo, what are you making?” 

 

“Brownies; would you like some later?” Kyungsoo offered politely. 

 

Yifan thought for a second, then made a face. “Nah, not my style.” Kyungsoo frowned, but Yifan didn’t see because he drank his water and turned to walk out of the kitchen. 

 

‘Maybe the other members would want,’ he thought, trying not to have thoughts of no one eating them and him baking them for nothing. He stuck the brownies into the oven, which was preheated. He set an alarm that would ring to indicate the brownies were finished baking. 

 

He wanted to do something nice for them. They’ve all worked hard lately and deserve this break and a little treat.

 

Soon, Sehun came trodding into the kitchen. 

 

“Hey, Sehun, do you want some brownies when they are done?” Kyungsoo asked, cheerily. It almost made Sehun raise his eyebrow at how unusually happy Kyungsoo sounded today. 

 

“No thanks, hyung; tryna stick to my diet and get those chocolate abs,” Sehun replied, and soon walked out. Was he just checking on Kyungsoo to see what he was cooking?  _ What a brat,  _ Kyungsoo thought.

 

When the alarm rang and Kyungsoo decided the brownies were finally finished baking, he took them out and placed them on the table. It was when dumb and dumber decided to walk in.

 

“What’s that smell?” Baekhyun asked aloud, sniffing the air. 

 

“Smell’s like Kyungsoo’s BAEKING something,” Chanyeol belted out with laughter while nudging Baekhyun with his elbow. 

 

Kyungsoo let out his signature sigh, as usual when Chanyeol makes his stupid jokes. “Do you guys want some? You might want to wait for it to cool down though.” 

 

“Pft, nah,” Chanyeol scoffed.

 

“We only came into the kitchen to get the protein bars,” Baekhyun answered. 

 

Kyungsoo frowned. “You guys are on a diet, too?” 

 

“You can say that, I guess.” 

 

“We’re trying to put on some muscle!!” Chanyeol proudly said, flexing his arms. 

 

As the two older members exited the kitchen, clif bars in their hands, but no brownies, Kyungsoo’s expression grew more and more forlorn. He had baked these especially for his members, and now he might have to give it to some trainees or something. He wanted his members to know that he appreciated everything they do for him, and he will make it up to them by doing little things like this. 

 

His thoughts were disturbed from the front door opening and then clicking closed. A few moments later, a sweaty Jongin came walking into the kitchen. 

 

“Hey, Kyungsoo! I knew I smelled something from the kitchen,” Jongin smiled while setting down his practice bags. Then he saw Kyungsoo’s expression clearly for the first time since he walked in. “Hey, what's wrong, hyung?”

 

Kyungsoo let out another sigh. “I made brownies, but no one wants to eat them…” 

 

Jongin was bewildered. “What? What do you mean? We love whatever you make for us.” 

 

Kyungsoo shrugged defeatedly. “I asked everyone who came into the kitchen and they all said they didn’t want any.” 

 

Jongin took one look at the brownies; then he walked over to the cabinet with all the eating utensils, opened it, and took out a knife. “Well, I want one, so I’m just gonna take one.” He started cutting the whole brownie in the pan into equal pieces. When he was done, he took the piece he wanted and bit into it.

 

“MMM!! It’s delicious, hyung! You have to have one,” Jongin exclaimed, holding out a piece for Kyungsoo. 

 

Kyungsoo hesitantly took it and ate it. He had to admit: it wasn’t his best, but it was still pretty good. If no one wanted to eat it, then he and Jongin could have it for themselves. 

 

“AH! Jongdae-hyung, do you want some brownies?” Jongin called out as Jongdae passed by in the living room. “Kyungsoo-hyung made them for us!” 

 

Jongdae came into the kitchen and let out a gasp. “BROWNIES!” He took a piece and gobbled it down. “Ugh, so good,” he groaned, before taking another one and walking out. 

 

Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo. “See? Other members will eat your brownies. I saw Joonmyun and Minseok helping out Yixing with composing, so they will probably want later. If not, I’ll eat them all!” 

 

Kyungsoo’s spirits were lifted up. Whenever he started doubting himself, Jongin was always there to help him and make him feel better.

 

“Thanks for making these, hyung. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day off to do this for us.” 

 

Kyungsoo watched as Jongin took another brownie, smiled and winked at Kyungsoo before exiting the kitchen.

 

Suddenly, in the corner of his eye, Kyungsoo could see Sehun attempting to take a brownie from behind him. “Oh Sehun!!” Kyungsoo scolds, fully turning around to see the maknae grab a brownie and sprint away from him. “SEHUN, PUT THE BROWNIE BACK RIGHT NOW!! YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE.” 

 

“Hyung, now I want one!!” Sehun shouts back, still running around the counter. “After going back into my room, I could still smell it, and it smells so good!!” 

 

“YOU SAID YOU WERE ON A DIET!! AND YOU DIDN’T TAKE ONE WHEN I ASKED NICELY.” Kyungsoo reached out and grabbed the chopsticks he used to stick in the brownies and check if they were cooked. 

 

“KYUNGSOO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THOSE!!!” Sehun shrieked upon seeing what he grabbed. 

 

“I’M GOING TO JAB YOU WITH THESE!!” Kyungsoo shouted back, brandishing the chopsticks in the air.

 

“BUT—”

 

“I DON’T KNOW HOW, BUT PUT THE BROWNIE BACK NOW!!” 

 

No matter how terrified he is of Kyungsoo weapon or no weapon in his hand, Sehun promptly shoved the brownie into his mouth and down his throat. 

 

He knows Kyungsoo won’t hurt him. 

 

Kyungsoo backed down. He put the chopsticks back onto the counter.  

 

“You brat.”

 

Sehun only smiled cheekily. 

 

“You said you didn’t want one before.” 

 

Sehun only shrugged, reaching out to grab another one.

 

Kyungsoo smacked his hand away. 

 

“From now on, you’re not getting any brownies I make, since you refused them the first time.”

 

Sehun pouted. “Hyung, don’t be like that~” 

 

Kyungsoo didn’t even glare at him. He kept a straight face and said, “Our Sehunnie talks too much.” 

 

“Aaaaaaaand I eat too much, too, so you should feed me more brownies,” Sehun cooed, hoping it would work on Kyungsoo. The older just walked away, leaving the brownies vulnerable. Sehun took it as a sign of defeat and swiftly grabbed another brownie. 


	6. Strive For Excellence, Not Perfection

Music bounced off the walls of the studios and hallways of SM Entertainment, as the song _Deep_ _Breath_ played in one of the practice rooms. It was late at night and there were barely any people left in the building. It was way past midnight — the clock was nearing 1 AM. There were some composers in the building who were adding some finishing touches to a portion of their song in progress, but there was also a single dancer who continued dancing and didn’t intend to stop and go home so soon. 

 

Kim Jongin.

 

SM’s Golden Boy.

 

EXO’s Dancing Machine. 

 

The members have long gone home before, and they’ve probably already had dinner; some are probably sleeping at this moment. Jongin didn’t think about how the members were resting their bodies while he worked extra time, aching and drenched in sweat. 

 

He choreographed this dance  _ himself _ . 

 

This is  _ his _ solo. 

 

Every single move has to be executed  _ flawlessly _ and each performance has to be the  _ best _ . 

 

He is striving for  _ perfection _ .  

 

He kept repeating in his head the fact that he is working harder than anybody else, that he  _ deserved _ this solo and this opportunity. This motivated him to keep going and to reach higher than any other of his team members. 

 

His company is giving him the opportunity to showcase his own skills. They are giving him the freedom that others took a while to achieve for themselves. He could not mess this up. 

 

Everything was going fine. He just goes through the motion of the dance, while focusing on carrying it out perfectly. Dance was the way he spoke to his fans without physically moving his mouth and without using words. He couldn’t stumble on his message and send off the wrong signals. 

 

The hardest part was coming up. 

 

Jongin had to spin in the air and land perfectly. 

 

One wrong move and everything could be ruined. 

 

But Jongin thought about it too much and overspun, twisting his hip too much and falling to the floor with a loud  _ thud! _

 

It took him a few seconds to register what had just happened. 

 

Then everything crashed down on him and overwhelmed him. His hip was in so much pain, but he couldn’t bring himself to call for help or cry out in pain. He had messed up — this was  _ his mistake.  _ He didn’t even want to get up and practice anymore. He just wanted to continue staying like that and drown in his thoughts. 

 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been lying on the floor, but someone finally comes into the room and rushes over to him. He feels hands on him, trying to shake him, trying to get him to respond.

 

He looks over and sees that it’s Joonmyun and Yixing. 

 

What were they doing here?

 

“He’s looking at us!” Joonmyun said urgently to the other. He turned back to Jongin with a worried expression. “Jongin, what’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering us?” 

 

Jongin realized how tired he was. 

 

He was exhausted.

 

He’s going into his third day of practicing non-stop. 

 

“Let’s bring him to the hospital,” Yixing suggested seriously. “Forget what management says. They’re not going to let him go if we tell them.”

 

“You’re right, he doesn’t look too good, we have to g—”

 

“No…” Jongin croaked out. He didn’t want to go to the hospital — they would ban him from practicing for weeks. He would deteriorate and get worse. He couldn’t afford that when his goal was the complete opposite. He couldn’t lose the time he could use to get better and better. 

 

“Jongin, thank God, you’re finally responding,” Joonmyun gasped out. “What’s wrong with you?” 

 

“Nothing, I was just out of it for a moment,” he answered.

 

“You’re clutching onto your hip; you’re in pain,” Yixing told him, exposing his lie. 

 

Jongin tried to slowly sit up, hiding the fact that his hip was crying out bloody murder, but he just breathed deeply to will away the pain. It was evident to Yixing and Joonmyun that Jongin was not okay. 

 

“Jongin, it’s okay,” Yixing consoled him, rubbing his back. Jongin hadn’t even realized he was crying. “It’s more than okay to admit you are hurt. You need to accept it, so you can rest and get treated.” 

 

“You’ve been practicing so hard for so long, don’t you think it’s time to take a break? You have limits like the rest of us,” Joonmyun told him. 

 

Jongin tried to calm himself down before speaking. He told them about the pressure of this solo, how he had worked on this piece bottom up by himself, how he had to show everyone what he is capable of. 

 

“Jongin, I want you to know that we are proud of you. The whole group and your fans are proud you. I’m sure that’s what matters the most,” Yixing struggled to say in Korean. His Korean wasn’t the best, but he was still learning, still getting there, and he was able to convey his message and his sincere feelings to Jongin. 

 

“I’ve known you since before our debut, and you are one of the most hard-working people I’ve ever met. I know you’re the type of person to strive for perfection, but not everything is going to be perfect,” Joonmyun explained. “You’ve already achieved excellence.”

 

Jongin wanted to cry out in relief. 

 

There were people who acknowledged his efforts; it was time for him to take a well-deserved rest. 

 

He embraced both Yixing and Joonmyun and thanked them. They helped him stand and continued to support him when walking out of the building and back to their dorms. 

 

He will get back up stronger; he knows he can’t achieve perfection, but he can continue to do his best and show everyone an excellent performance. 


	7. Chapter 7

“Oh? What’s this?” 

 

As the member who spent the most time on the internet, Chanyeol came across some things that made him more aware than the rest of EXO. Whether that was a good or bad thing depended on what stuff crossed his feed. 

 

Like the Chanbaek fics that his fans wrote? He saw it all before that clumsy fan accidentally mailed a hard copy of one to him. He remembers when there was an uproar about it, and so many fans begged him not to read it. He still laughs about it, but that’s a story for another day. 

 

If he’s not practicing or composing music, he’s on the internet just like how he is right now. He moved his mouse over to click on a video that caught his attention. 

 

Naver-Alternative Plants Trees

 

“We, the Ecosia search engine team, plant trees with our income! Ecosia users already planted a million trees! And with your help, we can plant even more!” 

 

_ What? Planting trees without actually doing the physical work?  _ Saving the planet _ without doing the physical work?  _

 

Chanyeol smiled to himself as he searched up the browser extension. After downloading it, he immediately started searching up the most random things like, “Why can’t you stick a fork in the microwave?” and “Who would win in a fight between a grilled cheese and a taco?” 

 

By the end of the day, the icon which showed how many trees you ‘planted’ had a red bubble with the number 126 on it.

 

_ Pft, Chanyeol’s definitely the most woke out of all the members. _

  
  
  


“I planted 345 trees yesterday, what did you all do?” Chanyeol outright bragged to the members who were already gathered in the living room. 

 

“Huh? You were in your room the whole day,” Jongin said skeptically. 

 

“Was it through that  _ stupid website _ that you shared three times on facebook?” Baekhyun asked, rolling his eyes. 

 

“No,” Chanyeol answered cheekily. 

 

“What? How then?” Kyungsoo exclaimed out of disbelief.

 

“With my own two hands, of course.” 

 

“Where?” Jongdae jumped in.

 

“In Seoul!” 

 

“Through volunteering or something?” Zitao asked, now impatient. 

 

Chanyeol snickered. “Through the search engine.” 

 

A couch pillow came hurtling his way, and he didn’t manage to dodge it in time. “I SAID THAT!!” Baekhyun shrieked. 

 

“Search engine, not website!!” Chanyeol retorted. 

 

“Same thing!! You liar!!” 

 

“Hey, technically everything I said was not a lie,” the giant defended himself. 

 

“Alright, alright,” Joonmyun interrupted. “I called you all here to discuss Minseok’s birthday, not to argue about tree search websites.” 

 

_ “Search engine!!”  _ Chanyeol begrudgingly corrected the leader. 

 

_ “Anyways,” _ Joonmyun sharply ignored the taller, “do you guys have any ideas what we should give to him as a gift? I already figured out what food to order and the cake.” 

 

“A Rolex!!” Yixing blurted out. 

 

“Hey, are you crazy?! We don’t have the kind of money for that!” Yifan scolded him.

 

“Sorry,” Yixing apologized sheepishly. “Rolexes are cool.” 

 

Sehun asked, “How about some new shoes and a hat?” 

 

“He literally has so much of that from the fans, how about giving him something that the fans would never dream of giving?” Chanyeol said. 

 

“What about giving him a tree to plant for his birthday?” Yifan suggested. “It’s unique and it won’t be something that’ll just be lying around. He could take care of it.” 

 

“That’s… a pretty good suggestion,” Joonmyun accepted. “Minseok is a neat person, so he can totally take care of it in his room.” 

 

“So we’re going with a tree?” Luhan asked collectively. 

 

The members nodded and murmured in agreement, saying it would be something that Minseok would like instead of a huge plush doll or something. 

 

“Hey,” Baekhyun turned to Chanyeol. “Search up in your stupid website, “How to grow trees in a dorm”. You’ll have planted one more tree.” 

 

Chanyeol stuck out his tongue, but opened his laptop up anyway.

  
  
  


A week later, Minseok sat in the middle of living room couch. The lights were dimmed and the members who were with him sat in anticipation for the cake and the reveal of their gift to him. 

 

Suddenly a light from the kitchen made its appearance, as Jongdae slowly carried the cake towards where the birthday boy sat. 

 

The rest of the members began to sing, “Saeng-il chukha hamnida!! Saeng-il chukha hamnida!! Saranghaneun Minseokkie~ Saeng-il chukha hamnida!!” 

 

Minseok closed his eyes and blew out all the candles. 

 

“Wooo!!” the members cheered and clapped. 

 

Jongin and Jongdae then followed through, heaving a huge potted tree in their arms. “Hyung!! We got you this for your birthday!! It’s a little different from last year’s gift, but I think it’ll be hard topping this gift for Sehun’s birthday.” 

 

“Thanks guys,” Minseok said gratefully. “I like it a lot. I’ll take good care of it.”

 

“We already named him for you though. His name is Wook,” Baekhyun announced.  

 

Chanyeol looked puzzled as hell before he spoke up. “Wook? I thought we agreed on Gun?” 

 

“Um, no…” Baekhyun replied carefully. “We settled on Wook…”  

 

“I’m  _ pretty _ sure Gun!!” the younger continued to argue.

 

“Chanyeol, I’ll fight you on this!! We all said it’d be Wook!!” 

 

Minseok only shook his head and laughed as the two beagles charged at each other. 


End file.
